Thursday, May 31, 2001 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elections office cans upgrade for new computer network By MATT GRIMISON (matt.grimison@news-jrnl.com) Staff Writer DELAND -- A long-delayed computer upgrade that Volusia County elections officials said would have vastly improved the response to last November's chaotic election has been permanently scrapped because of technical problems.

Elections Supervisor Deanie Lowe terminated a contract for a PC-based network for compiling voter registration and other information that would have replaced the aging mainframe now in place.

While staff members are working to make improvements to the mainframe for some of the same capabilities, the decision means there will not be a PC network in place for the 2002 general election, Lowe said.

"It's disappointing when you think you've got something going, and you just have to give up on it," Lowe said.

The county contracted with Global Elections Systems in 1999 to provide a network from a company called Computer Management Information Systems Inc. The $171,000 system was supposed to take over as the nerve center for the Elections Office, providing pollworker assignments, polling place information, equipment tracking and virtually every other type of record-keeping in the office.

Lowe said by the end of 1999 it became apparent the companies could not deliver what they promised, so they delayed any further work on the project until after last fall's election.

Since then, the county has offered further extensions until Lowe finally scrapped the contract last month, she said.

Officials with Election.com Inc., the company that recently acquired Computer Management Information Systems, said they understand things did not work out with the original contract. They added that the merger put more resources and different programs at their disposal and they hope the door is not totally closed with Volusia County.

While Lowe said the current mainframe system works fine, there are obvious advantages to the envisioned PC-based network. Specific reports on voters, precincts and other details could come up using a few keystrokes, where a similar request would take days and a specialized utility program in the mainframe, Lowe said.

Probably most important is a street index application that would allow Elections Office workers to punch in a name or address and immediately tell a pollworker or voter which precinct applies to the individual.

That would have come in handy in November.

One of the closest U.S. presidential elections in history led to chaos in the state, and Volusia County drew national attention as one of just four asked to manually recount ballots. Lowe grappled with a computer glitch that turned in incorrect returns in one precinct, communication breakdowns with pollworkers and other problems that a streamlined record system would have helped, she said.

County Councilwoman Ann McFall, who served on the Canvassing Board and has declared her intention to run for the elections supervisor post, said she understands the problems with the contract, but pointed out such changes were implemented elsewhere.

"There are other counties and other states that are doing it," McFall said.

Lowe said she will not try to find another vendor for such a system before next year's gubernatorial election. A provision in a sweeping election reform package of laws passed this year gives the state money to begin developing a statewide voter registration database, so Lowe said she is waiting to see that result before making decisions.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/2001/May/31/POL11.htm

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2001